1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the telecommunications field and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for use in automatically arranging for, and controlling participation in, telemeetings.
2. Description of Related Art
A basic service offered by telecommunications networks is to provide a communications connection between at least two parties for a certain period of time. The process of providing this telecommunications service can be described conceptually as arranging a telecommunications meeting between the participants (i.e., a so-called "telemeeting"). Ever since the emergence of this telemeeting concept, a number of pertinent questions have been raised, such as: How is it possible for a communications network manager to (1) effectively manage a telemeeting involving numerous participants, (2) control participation in a telemeeting (e.g., should the meeting be open to anyone), (3) enable participants to join a telemeeting from any location, and (4) schedule a telemeeting in terms of both time and place? Inevitably, in a conventional heterogeneous communications environment, telemeeting participants will attempt to gain admittance to a session in a number of different ways. However, from a conference planning and management standpoint, conventional communication networks are unable to determine beforehand just how and where individual participants will be attempting to gain admittance to such a telemeeting.
Teleconferencing is one basic service offered by conventional telecommunications systems whereby a limited number of participants can confer simultaneously with each other. However, the basic services now being offered typically do not offer any type of conference management support. In other words, the communication connections between the conference participants are made by the person who has asked for and initiated the telemeeting. Typically, the person initiating the meeting calls each participant in turn, which requires prior knowledge of the participants' calling addresses.
The AT&T long distance telephone network offers a teleconferencing service known as the "Alliance Dedicated Teleconferencing Service." This service can connect conference call participants together on up to 56 telephone lines. These conference calls are set up and controlled by AT&T operators with access to an AT&T conference management system. However, a limitation of this service is that the teleconference has to be booked in advance, which requires personal assistance from an AT&T operator. In an attempt to improve on the Alliance service in this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,293 entitled "Enhanced Dedicated Teleconferencing System" discloses a service computer which is used as an intermediary between the Alliance system and a non-AT&T conference coordinator. Consequently, the conference coordinator has conference management capabilities similar to those of an AT&T operator.
Another teleconferencing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,694, which is entitled "Unattended Meet-Me-Conference Controlled By A Telephone Terminal." Essentially, this patent discloses a method for automatically connecting teleconference participants who can register for the conference by calling a predetermined telephone number. A telephone terminal (capable of executing application software programs) provides certain teleconferencing management and control functions, and uses control signals to communicate with the telecommunications network and establish connections for all conference participants. The disclosed system employs a modified Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) protocol to control the transfer of signalling and speech data. However, a problem with such a system is that special "intelligent" terminal equipment is required, which can limit the ultimate use of the service provided. Also, the use of an ISDN protocol can be technically and/or financially prohibitive for certain network operators.
Furthermore, in order to obtain a global level of service with conventional methods, the necessary ISDN protocol would be required in all networks through which conference participants connect to a conference. An important advantage of the present invention is its independence from such restrictions.
Another disadvantage of the conventional conferencing methods is that only one mode of participation can be used based on a telephone connection. Consequently, in order to participate in a conference, there must be a telecommunications network available which excludes participation through, for example, a data network. The present invention advantageously allows a mixture of modes including participation through, for example, the Internet.